By Mariah T.
Many writers stay so focused on their work that they forget to promote their product. As a result, they often become discouraged by disappointing book sales. You can do better, especially if you know where to start.
Marketing is essential for books, just as with any other good. With the right plan, you can build awareness and excitement about your work, so people anticipate buying it. That way, people will buy your book as soon as it becomes available.
Although you want to sell books, you also want to deliver value to your readers. After all, marketing is more about creating mutually beneficial relationships than merely closing sales. If you routinely meet or exceed expectations, your base of loyal readers will expand.
At first, marketing may sound intimidating. However, if you spend time learning about how to market books, you can quickly become a pro. Begin by thoroughly researching your market and then applying what you know to the following effective marketing channels for books.
Blogging
Some experts in the publishing industry say that an author should begin promoting a book as early as three years before publication. That being said, it’s okay if you do it eighteen months or a year before the publication date too, as is common. A blog can help you do this. Remember that, in addition to promoting your book, you also need to promote your brand as an author.
Use your blog to establish your authority in your subject matter. Also, use it to showcase your work and capabilities. As you build an audience, you can provide periodic updates about the status of your book and provide teasers to stoke excitement.
Organic Search
Millions of people start their internet sessions at a search engine such as Google. There, they enter queries and hope for relevant search results. When your website and blog naturally appear in search results, that’s called “organic.”
Although marketing through organic search is effective, it usually takes a long time and intentional effort to get results. So, learn all you can about search engine optimization (SEO). Publish content to match searches for related keywords and phrases, so you’ll have to learn how to identify the popular tropes and trending topics of your book so as to predict what audiences might be typing into Google to result in your book (or at least your blog posts). Same goes with Amazon. Of course, SEO can be tricky and it will take a lot of your time to make sure you’re doing it correctly.
Social Media
Use popular social networks to build the kind of relationships that will sell your books. Rather than bombarding your followers with sales pitches, personally get to know your audience. When people feel as though they know you, they will more likely buy your book.
Marketing a book requires planning, so get started right now. By emphasizing people over profits and using the above marketing channels, you can improve your odds of success.
What a great article. Thanks for mentioning our Amazon post!
Thank you! And thanks for writing such great posts!